Survivor: Cuba
Survivor: Cuba - Fans .vs. Favorites is the seventeenth season of the NJ's Survivor Series, which premiered on September 22, 2015 and ended with the Live Reunion on October 27, 2015, where Felix L. was crowned the winner in a 5-4-1 vote. The Fan Favorite Award was given to Mearl who received 26.3% of the Viewer's Lounge Vote. The Player of the Season Award was given to Felix. Production This season features twenty castaways divided into two tribes of ten. Ten members of the cast are returning players labeled as “favorites”, and the other ten are brand new players who were recruited by the host and labeled “fans”. The tribes this season are named after administrative divisions in Cuba. The tribe of favorites is Artemisa, wearing teal, and the tribe of fans is Matanzas, wearing yellow. On Day 10, the two tribes merged into Amarok, wearing gray, named after the word for "wolf" in some unknown language. The ten returning players were all selected by the host, based on their popularity in past season(s). The new players were all recruited by the host to be the “Fans”. The cast and tribal designations were revealed on September 21, 2015. Twists * Fans .vs. Favorites: Ten returning favorite castaways faced off against ten brand new fan players. Artemisa is the tribe of favorites, while Matanzas is the tribe of fans. * Returning Players: Ten former castaways returned for this season, selected because of how popular they were in the VL in past seasons. * Exile Island: After each immunity challenge, the winning tribe got to select one person from the losing tribe to be sent to Exile Island. That person then got to select one person from the winning tribe to join them. The person sent from the losing tribe would be saved from Tribal Council. * Tribe Swap: On Day 5, the two tribes were randomly swapped into two new tribes of eight. * Double Tribal Council: On Day 9, both tribes were sent to Tribal Council, and the challenge was individual. Both players voted out however, became the first and second members of the Jury, while everyone else merged the next day. * Hidden Immunity Idols: There was a Hidden Immunity Idol placed on Exile Island. Those sent to Exile could “search” a pre-determined amount of locations for the idol. There was also an extra Hidden Immunity idol at the merged tribe camp. Contestants The Total Votes is the number of votes a castaway received during Tribal Councils where the castaway was eligible to be voted out of the game, excluding tiebreakers. It does not include the votes received during the final Tribal Council. (^1) - In Episode 3, Marcus played a Hidden Immunity Idol, negating two votes cast against him. (^2) - In Episode 14, Chris played a Hidden Immunity Idol, negating zero votes cast against him. (^3) - In the Reunion, the Final Vote tied 4-4-1 between Chris and Felix. Newz, the last person voted out before the Jury cast the tie-breaker vote. The Game (^1) - In Episode 3, Marcus played a Hidden Immunity Idol, negating two votes cast against him. (^2) - In Episode 14, Chris played a Hidden Immunity Idol, negating zero votes cast against him. (^3) - In Episode 16, Rich was voted out after a 2-2 tie between Chris and Felix. Because it was the final four, everyone but Mearl, who had Immunity, had to draw rocks. Rich drew the purple rock and was eliminated. (^4) - In the Reunion, the Final Vote tied 4-4-1 between Chris and Felix. Newz, the last person voted out before the Jury cast the tie-breaker vote. Voting Table (^1) - In Episode 3, Marcus played a Hidden Immunity Idol, negating two votes cast against him. (^2) - In Episode 14, Chris played a Hidden Immunity Idol, negating zero votes cast against him. (^3) - In Episode 16, Rich was voted out after a 2-2 tie between Chris and Felix. Because it was the final four, everyone but Mearl, who had Immunity, had to draw rocks. Rich drew the purple rock and was eliminated. (^4) - In the Reunion, the Final Vote tied 4-4-1 between Chris and Felix. Newz, the last person voted out before the Jury cast the tie-breaker vote.